To catch a criminal
by yornma
Summary: After seven years of being a part of the Ravagers, Adra goes on what was supposed to be a routine solo mission to pick up a relic.Only to find that the seemingly boring looking relic is not all it seems and she ends up caught stealing along with a rather long list of other offenses... (see inside for full summary, part 2 of 3 of Harebrained Schemes)


**After seven years of being a part of the Ravagers, Adra goes on what was supposed to be a routine solo mission to pick up a to find that the seemingly boring looking relic is not all it seems and she ends up caught stealing along with a rather long list of other offenses. Will the rest of the Ravagers do a prison break or will she be left to rot?**

**OC, Peter Quill/Star Lord, Yondu, Kraglin**

**Part 2 of 3 of the Harebrained Schemes Series, please see Unlikely Guardian for the backstory on Adra.**

**Many, many thanks to Fairytale Warrior for letting me whine, finding my writing mistakes and pointing out that I apparently have a grammar troll lurking in my writing. :)**

**Please R&R it would mean the world to me.**

**So without further ado I don't own GOTG just Adra & Niaras. :)**

* * *

><p>[7 years later ]<p>

-Tues - 0832-

-Tanaris: PiknPul Salvage Yard: South End-

-Adra-

She started it as a somber tradition about five years ago, returning to the planet where she started her new life. To remind herself of what could have happened instead of what did. She had only meant to visit for a few hours, but ended up finding a salvage yard and one thing led to another and she made fast friends with the owner Nmyth and his son Niaras.

Landing her ship, the Spathi, just on the edge of the salvage yard, she pulled off her coat. The temperature was on the humid side so she shrugged off her shirt leaving herself in a black tank top. Slinging her bag around her shoulders, she left

Walking She walked through the broken and hulled out ships until she found one of interest. Immediately slipping into the hulled out cockpit and checking out the console.

After a few minutes she was thoroughly engrossed in checking to see if it would be salvageable that she barely noticed footfalls coming up the side of her.

"Hey Addy." She cringed slightly at knowing the voice and the cheerful grin it belonged to. In the corner of her eye she saw a head poke into the cockpit.

"You know how I feel about that nickname." she said with a slight warning in her voice, not bothering to look up as she jiggled the console of the hulled out ship loose and proceeded to pull chips out. Placing them into the ever present black bag that was slung across her shoulders.

"It suits you." he replied easily, folding his arms across his chest and leaning halfway into the cockpit.

She snorted from her position on the floor underneath the pilot's console now as she undid a few of the screws, pulled it loose and pulled more chips out. "I very much doubt that."

"I bet it's been a while since you've heard me call you that." She heard the creak of the metal as he stepped inside albeit cautiously, looking around until his eyes settled on her.

"And how I've missed it so", she said drily, turning her attention to him and his warm amber eyes, waving a screwdriver at him,"The only reason you get away with it is because I promised your father not to kill you the first time you said. It was not, nor ever, an invite to continue."

"It wasn't?" his tone and eyebrows both raised in disbelief.

"No," she turned around and crawled from up under the pilot console, feeling his eyes on her again. She straightened up and turned to face him," Stop it."

"Stop what?" something close to amusement and disbelief crossed his face. She scowled at him, brushing past him as she moved to the remains of another ship, this time an older and much smaller pod ship and it was turned on it's side so she had to hoist herself up in order to get into the cockpit.

"You're still looking at my ass. Stop it." she called from over her shoulder, as he approached the side of the ship. He pulled himself up with ease, they were nearly face to face. She handed him her bag wordlessly and swung her legs around to descend into the small pod.

"How did-" he asked bewildered, she glanced up at him and motioned for the bag. He handed it to her still just as confused if not a bit amused.

She realized a moment later that she wouldn't have enough room to work in and handed the bag back. He took it silently and watched as she twisted herself underneath the pilot console and started pulling out plugs. Once she had a handful, she pulled herself to the door and handed them to him. His fingers grazed her palm as he pulled the chips out of her hand. She felt a pull or tug, something she couldn't quite identify as a strange expression passed over his face before returning to his usual cheerful grin.

"You know, if I didn't know any better I would think you were only here for scrap metal and parts."

She crawled back under the pilot's console collecting the rest of the chip and passing them over to him, "For the record, the only reason I'm here is because this is one of the better salvage yards in this sector."

Scanning over the console one more time before untangling herself she took his offered hand and was pulled out of the cockpit.

"And here I thought it was because of my cooking." he smirked, then began to climb down the side of the ship.

She tossed her bag to him, he caught it and she climbed down herself. Moving to the next ship, this one thankfully was a bit bigger and was not on its side. The door on this one was jammed, she back up slightly and gave it a good kick with her right foot. It moved back on its track and she was able to slide it back enough to slide herself in.

"Your cooking is not terrible." she commented, pushing the googles off her eyes for a moment to wipe the sweat away and glance around.

"Is that a compliment?" he asked hopeful, sticking his head into the cockpit and deciding it would be best if he stayed just out of hitting and kicking range of her.

"Somewhat." she replied from the back of the ship.

"I'll take it. Besides, I got your favorite tea whenever you're ready for a break."

* * *

><p>-Tues- 1745-<p>

-Tanaris: Piknpull Salvage Yard: Main Building-

-Adra-

A shower was exactly what she needed after spending nearly 9 hours under the brutal sunlight of the planet's twin sunspulling chips, wires and cutting pieces of valuable scraps away from various wrecked ships. She felt the tension of the past few months ease from her body as the warm water ran over her, rinsing away the grime, grease and oil that had collected on her skin.

Adra stayed in the shower longer than she had meant to, but it was just so glorious she couldn't help but linger as the water ran over her head and back, the pulsating water hitting that spot in middle of her back where it was now just a trifle sore.

Turning off the water reluctantly, she stepped out and grabbed the towel drying herself off. To her surprise she found that her dirty clothes had been taken and that a change of clothes were already on the sink counter awaiting her.

She must have been too absorbed in the shower to notice his presence.

Dressing quickly she ran the towel through her hair one more time before hanging the semi damp towel up. Swinging the bathroom door open wide to get hit with the delicious mouth watering aroma of cooking meat. Her stomach growled in protest.

She headed down the hall towards the kitchen, following the scent.

Before she could even open her mouth to say anything, he looked up from the sizzling pot and pan, tossing her a smile,"Yes, I'm cooking. I picked up a few things since the last time you were here. "

"Apparently, and decorated as well." she said, taking a moment to look around the kitchen and stepping into the living space for a moment. There were a several different metal shaped sculptures hanging on the walls and in the corners.

She moved toward one of the larger ones, it was just a bit taller than her and seemed to twist and wind it's way up to the ceiling. She turned her head to the side and saw that it looked like waves breaking on the surf, the rolling waves were captured in the cold hard metal.

"That piece took me 6 months to finish. You won't believe what a pain it was to cut all the pieces the same length." his voice came floating in from the kitchen.

She stood admiring it for a moment before his voice came back in.

"Food's almost done if you want to take a seat."

She walked back into the kitchen and took a seat at the metal table. She noticed some similarities in it in the sculpture in the living room.

He served her a plate full of glistening wide noodles with chucks of gray meat and a cup of fresh tea. The platter clacked against the table top, the food shifting as it settled and Adra didn't waste time. She scooped up a fork and spun it through the dish as her partner returned to the stove with a second plate in hand. As he finished gathering a suitable amount for himself she took her first bite. The creamy, thick pasta warmed her throat and set a little heavy in her empty belly- a feeling that made her feel oddly at home.

"Well?" her server asked expectantly as he sat down, putting his plate on the table and grabbing a fork for himself.

"You're too good to me," Adra replied appreciatively, already reaching for her next bite. Her words were genuine and held a gratitude she couldn't hope to voice.

But her modest friend turned his gaze down to his meal with a casual shrug, "I could do better." There was something in his tone that made Adra pause, something she had heard so rarely in her life that it confused her. It could have been guilt, but she wasn't certain.

Feeling the mood shift she tried to steer their conversation back into familiar waters.

An amused scoff left her, cheeks pulled taunt by a smile as she replied, "You do that and I'd never leave."

"I wouldn't object to that," he commented lightly, twirling his fork around in a pile of noodles and taking a bite for himself. He nodded slightly in approval of his own cooking. In looking up he saw that she had an odd look on her face, "You don't have to go back, you know. You do have a choice."

"It's not that simple," she said softly, more to herself than him. Turning her full attention to her food, she began to twirling the noodles absently. Trying to fight off the conflicting emotions that were running through her.

She had easily warded off men's advances before, sometimes rather forcefully. But she had never encountered someone she actually wanted to trust. But he was so unlike anyone else she had met; he didn't demand anything from her, gave her space when she needed it and even returned her banter. She knew he wasn't a bunch of wires that she could easily twist together or cold metal she could solder and reshape. She had never felt so unsure of herselff, it felt a bit like she was drowning.

The sound of him clearing his throat brought her back to reality. She started at the sudden noise.

"I think those noodles are plenty dizzy by now," He said with a light heartened chuckle, placing a hand on hers to stop her.

She felt a blush creep into her cheeks, "Sorry."

Breathe, just breathe. Don't focus on the warmth of his hand. Or the slight wrinkle in his brow from concern or those pool of warm amber that were his eyes. Just breathe. Think of how to put together a bomb.

Her mind quickly went over the proper parts needed for a bomb, she found herself calming down just a bit. She sincerely hoped he couldn't hear how loud her heart was beating in her chest.

"My father adored you, he told you to come back as often as you like and that offer stands as far as I'm concerned," He gave her hand a gentle squeeze and then added," Before you say anything about missing the ceremony it was pretty boring, so you didn't miss much."

She nodded, finding herself suddenly unable to speak.

No amount of thinking about building bombs was going to save her now.

"You will always have a place here when you want it." he said sincerely, squeezing her hand gently before letting go.

She managed a barely audible, "Thank you."

They finished their dinner in the comfortable silence.

* * *

><p>-Wed - 0414-<p>

-Tanaris: Piknpull Salvage Yard: Main Building-

-Adra-

Bleary eyed she checked the time, 0415, she sighed heavily setting her tools aside. She had thankfully regained her focus enough to work on the new engine schematics. Rubbing her eyes for a moment before uncrossing her legs and stretching, hearing and feeling the satisfactory pop in her mid back . She turned off the lights and headed down the dark hallway.

She paused for a moment at his bedroom door, it was cracked just slightly enough for her to peer in and see the moonlight shining in blanketing the room in a hauntingly beautiful green glow.

"Are you going to linger there all night?" he rumbled, his voice heavy with sleep.

Her breath caught in her throat from the sudden interruption in her reprieve.

"Dammit," she whispered, after finding her voice," I thought you were asleep."

He rolled over to face her, she couldn't help but notice the muscles in his back flex and tense as he moved, amber eyes catching the moonlight. "I was, until I felt eyes on me."

She was drowning again and felt a fluttering in her stomach. She scolded herself for letting her feelings get the better of her. He's a friend, nothing more. Nothing less.

"Well?" his voice sounded a bit more alert broke through her thoughts again. He leaned up on his elbow as if waiting for her to answer.

"Sorry?" she blinked, confused. Shifting her weight to her other leg leaning against the door.

"Are you okay?" concern painted across his features and his brow crinkled.

It was one of his many endearing features. Ugh, what had gotten into her? She wanted to kick herself but at the same time she couldn't stop herself.

"Yeah, why?" she managed.

"You seem distracted today," he sat up the sheet crumpled to his waist, the moonlight hit his chest and she tried her best not to stare," you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah." she breathed, wanting to just die right there and then.

Just shoot me now with a plasma cannon, I have lived a good life.

"Come here." It was a request not a demand, just as simple as if he was talking to her about the weather.

Her feet obeyed the request before the rest of her realized it. He moved towards the window giving her space to lay down.

As if it was second nature she unzipped her boots, sitting on the edge of the bed, pulling off socks. Then her pants and shirt, laying down beside him.

He closed the gap between them, her breath caught in her throat as he pulled the sheet over her. It was warm from his body heat and smelled of tea and oil.

"I meant what I said earlier about wanting you to stay. " Propping himself on his elbow, his free hand laying at his side.

"I know. "she replied softly, trying to not let her voice betray the conflicting emotions that were running through her.

He touched her face lightly, running his calloused fingertips over her cheekbone, she closed her eyes relishing in his gentle caress for a moment," You are not as damaged as you make yourself out to be."

She felt her defensive barriers crack and threaten to crumble.

"Is that what you believe?" she tried to sound nonchalant, but found her voice wavering.

Dammit girl, get a hold of yourself.

"No, that's what I know, " he murmured softly. His voice steady, calm all the things she just wasn't right now.

He lifted her chin up gently with his hand. She looked up at the dark pools of amber, finding herself completely and utterly lost in them.

His lips touched hers, she leaned into it just slightly. His arm went around her waist, pulling her gently closer. She felt herself mold against his body, the scent of tea and oil and warmth made her feel a bit like she was intoxicated.

The kiss broke after a few moments. Her heart was racing in her chest, afraid for a moment that it might just burst out of her chest. She would have scoffed at the thought, had the moment not been so utterly serious.

"You have no idea how long I've been wanting to do that." he said softly, his fingers moved to caress her cheek again. She closed her eyes again, wanting to desperately regain some sense of herself.

"Yeah?" she heard herself reply.

She reminded herself to remember to breathe. This was just Niaras, not some sleazy buyer wanting to cut a 'deal' or some drunk hitting on her at the bar. He was just Niaras, nothing to be afraid of.

She could hear the earnest nod in his voice, "It's been at least three years."

Having found herself a bit more calm, she opened her eyes again and queried, "Why didn't you say something?"

"I tried, but you shut me down, repeatedly- might I add- but I'm persistent if nothing else," he smiled at her, moving his fingers through her hair. She could quite possibly die right now with how good that felt, finding herself relaxing as the tendrils of sleep tugged at her. He continued,"Today was the first time I was able to flirt with you and you didn't try to maim me. "

"Defensive mechanism." she murmured almost apologetically, sinking further into the pillow. Exhaustion finally hitting her as she let a sigh escape her.

She felt him kiss her forehead and an arm go around her waist before sleep finally claimed her.

* * *

><p>-Wed - 1023-<p>

-Tanaris: Piknpul Salvage Yard: Main Building-

-Adra-

Something beeped to her left, she ignored it turning her head away. Sleep was leaving her slowly and for once she didn't want it to. The smell of fresh tea and something cooking awoke her stomach and it growled slightly.

She rolled over, snuggling deeper into the blankets not wanting to give up hope on just a few more minutes of rest.

The insistent beeping started again. She dug her head into the pillow and grabbed the pillow to her right putting it over her head in hopes of drowning it out. She caught a whiff of oil and tea, her lips curled into a smile. She pulled the pillow to her chest to inhale the aroma that was distinctly him.

The beeping of the tablet fading into the background.

"I'm not sure if I should be jealous of my pillow or not." his amused voice cut through her half conscious state.

She threw it at him half-heartedly and rolled over to pick up the still beeping tablet on the table. She groaned inwardly it was Yondu, probably wanting something fixed or wondering when she was coming back.

Her fingers flicked across the screen to receive the incoming call.

The Centaurian's face appeared on the screen looking a bit more annoyed than normal, red eyes peering at her accusingly, "Yew still sleepin'? Yewr getting' lazier than Quill."  
>She resisted the urge to roll her eyes, but instead snorted lightly," That's highly doubtful. What did you want?"<br>"Got a job for yew. There's a relic on a system nearby, I've got a buyer wanting it for 7,500 units. Figured since yew were in the area yew'd want it. Unless yew got somethin' better to do."

She bit back the reply that she did in fact have something better to do. She heard Niaras shift his weight behind her.

"Gimme the coordinates and the buyer's info. I'll be on my way." She slid her silver fingers across the screen ending the call before Yondu could protest.

Putting the tablet back on the table she sighed, wanting nothing more than to deflate into the pillow. She had actually slept for once, undisturbed by nightmares of the past and for that she owed him more than just a returned kiss for it.

He handed the mug to her, she took a sip appreciatively, "Rain check on breakfast?"

"Of course."

Slipping back into her clothes and grabbing the tablet, glancing it over for a moment before going into the living room to pick up her bag.

* * *

><p>-Wed- 1325-<p>

-Norvua VI: Northwest Quadrant -

-Adra-

She eased the Spathi down onto the surface, through the rumbling brown clouds, finding the least inconspicuous place to land. It had proven just a bit tricky considering everything was covered in several inches of frozen precipitation, which gave the ground a slight purple glaze like icing. Metal and ice didn't mix and she had to use every bit of concentration to land the ship without it missing her mark.

Carefully setting foot on the ground, minding her steps she ran her gps/scanner over the area, if Yondu's intel was correct she would find the entrance to the cave just a few meters in front of her.

3 meters

2 meters

1 meter

Nothing but the purple snow that crunched slowly under her boots. She frowned thoughtfully, reaching from inside of her coat, pulling out a metallic pole arm. Flicking the notch on the top of it, she aimed it at the wall of snow in front of her. A blue electric charge burst from her weapon of choice and crackled bursting through the snow melting it almost instantly, revealing the entrance to the cave she had been looking for.

She smiled, tucking her weapon back into her coat. Stepping forward cautiously letting the scanner run over the layout before her. The cave was old she could tell by the various mineral deposits and from the musty smell.

She wandered through a series of interconnecting tunnels until she came to a much larger room. Long since faded murals decorated the walls and something dimly glowed yellow about 3 meters in front of her towards the back of the room.

Sweeping her scanner over it, she got the beep of a confirmation that it was indeed the relic she was looking for.

The data kept streaming across the scanner, but she ignored it making her way towards the orb.

It was sitting cradled in the hand of what she could only assume was a stone statue of some long since worshiped deity.

She eyed the statue for a moment trying to figure out the best way to scale it -sure she could blast it to pieces with her pole arm- but she was not about to risk blowing her element of surprise unless absolutely necessary.

Jumping to the platform that was only about a meter high where the sandal of the deity rested, she found a few cracks in the leg of the stone and hoisted herself up, gripping with her claws just slightly out the feeling of stone against claw was enough to make her cringe but she ignored it, setting her sights on the orb that was now closer.

She made it to the lap of the deity, and noticed with a small amount of satisfaction that the arm that held the orb was only 3 meters in front of her.

She found more cracks in the stone leading her up the arm and then balanced down the lower arm until she was just within arms reach of the orb.

Flattening herself belly down against the wrist area of the statue, inching closer with the tips of her boots, she reached to pluck the glowing orb from the deity.

It wouldn't budge.

"Of course," she muttered softly to herself and extended the claw on her left forefinger just slightly running it along the edge of where the orb was stuck. Tapping it just slightly, it stirred now loose.

She sheathed her claw and reached to grab the orb, the moment she touched it the orb started to pulsate. Putting the orb into her bag she began to backtrack following the cracks back down to the chest of deity and clawed her way down the leg of the statue, almost clear until she felt something sharp sting her leg.

Turning she came to face to face with a very angry yellow scaled snake like creature that towered a good meter or so above her. It hissed at her viciously, revealing sharp curved fangs and a forked tongue.

"Look, I know what this looks like and," she said, glancing to left and right as other yellow creatures were slithering her way, each one armed with prong like weapons and all of them looking equally pissed about her presence in their shrine. Her hand reached into her bag for the orb, she silently thanked herself for packing a few smoke bombs, pulling out the silver metallic orb and tossing to the creature in front of her before making a dash for it. The creature caught it, confused and went to look at it before a flash of blue erupted from it and smoke filled the room.

She pushed her goggles over her eyes and kept running, pushing past the natives running through the winding passageways until she saw the dim glow of the purple snow.

Pausing for a moment she pulled out another orb, turning she rolled it down the pathway behind her and she ran out just as the ground shook from the explosion.

The cave entrance collapsed on itself and she made her way towards her ship.

* * *

><p>-Wed- 2313-<p>

-The Spathi: Upper Deck-

-Adra-

She couldn't sleep.

Scratch that, she didn't want to sleep.

Especially not when she was trying her best to hide her ship in the shadow of a moon to avoid being detected by a small fleet of five Noruvan war cruisers.

All of this was over that orb she had managed to swipe earlier that day. She pulled the yellow sphere out of the bag glancing at it as it pulsated in her hand. The power on the ship flickered for a moment going dim long enough for the emergency generator to kick in. Putting the orb back into her bag, the power restored itself.

Okay so maybe it wasn't some ordinary relic, there was something more to it. Either way having war cruiser after her was a bit excessive, though flattering she was only one thief not a band of them.

The tendrils of exhaustion tried to wrap around her consciousness.

She shook her head lightly, trying to get rid of the feeling.

Might as well make the most of her time and start a system scan.

Systems Check Complete.

The holo screen flashed the results.

Wings were good.

Ventilation good.

Engines good, with the exception of possibility of low fuel in a few hours.

Once those ships turned around she would be high tailing it back to Yondu, but until then she would wait.

Tea.

She needed some tea.

Putting the autopilot on, she stood stretched very nearly touching the metal ceiling and walked towards the ladder that led to the lower levels of her ship.

Her black boots clanked softly against the metal rungs as she lowered herself down to the second level and moved towards the small kitchenette that carried a few creature comforts she found esstenial such as tea.

Opening the top cabinet she found the box Niaras has given her. It smelled like a warm breeze through the salvage yard, oil, grease and well of him in general.

She pulled out a bag and set it into the warm water, waiting a few moments and pulling it back out giving it a squeeze and took a sip and felt like she was back on Tanaris again.

Well that was one way to wake herself up.

She climbed back up to the upper deck to resume her game of hide and seek.

Easing back into the pilot's chair she flipped off the auto pilot and eased the ship a bit closer to the moon not wanting to be pulled into its gravitational pull. She did a quick scan and found the war cruisers were still there hovering as if waiting.

She frowned, thoughtfully,"What are you waiting for?"

The Spathi was fast, but not fast enough to outrun five war cruisers especially not without a full tank of fuel. She kicked herself for not getting fuel before the job, but she was already in the area and when Yondu had given her the intel he had neglected to mention they had defenses.

This may take a while, as long as the fuel held she could hide for about four hours, give or take.

She slouched back slightly in the pilot's chair, putting her boots on the console, idly watching the numbers on the screen scroll. Her left leg stung slightly, she rubbed it absently, remembering that one of the furious natives' prong- like weapons had managed to make contact with her leg, burning through fabric and to skin. She would have to tend to it later.

She leaned forward moving her boots off the console, fingers gliding over it bringing up the schematics for the new engine she had been working on. Flipping the hologram on it's side she look at it thoughtfully, the parts wouldn't be too hard to get.

Nothing she couldn't scrounge up on another visit to Tanaris.

She brought up the schematics for the new engine she was working on, busying herself for the moment losing herself in the tweaks and minor adjustments here and there before the ship shook violently.

She very nearly dropped the tablet.

Boom.

Her ship shook violently. The holo screen image flickered and came back on.

There were now six Noruvan war cruisers and they were fastly approaching.

Boom.

She cursed in her native tongue.

The comm flickered with an incoming call from a Noruvian ship.

She ignored it, grabbing the controls to steer the ship out of their path only to find that her ship wasn't responding.

The console flashed red indicating that the ship took a hit to the thrusters.

Boom.

Another confirmed hit to the engines.

The emergency generator kicked in, everything dimmed by 60%.

With a sigh she answered the comm.

"Pilot of the vessel Spathi. Your systems have been disabled. We will tractor you to Norva VI where you will be sentenced."

* * *

><p>-Thurs- 0115-<p>

-Norvua VI: Southeast Quadrant: Prison Mines: Upper Level: Sentencing Room-

-Adra-

She was marched into a very small room before a green scaled male who wore a solemn scowl, glancing at the information that was displayed in front of him.

"Adryenellis Yena'kar-" his baritone voice rumbled,

"Adra." she corrected with a bored tone. His serpentine eyes met hers and she stared at him evenly. They might have impounded her ship, took the orb back and have her imprisoned, but she had a plan of escape already forming.

He glowered at her, then looked back down reading from the tablet before him.

"You are accused of disturbing the peace, theft, defacing and destroying a sacred shrine along with attempting to set off an explosive near public property, setting off an explosive on private property, destroying public property and carrying explosives. You are herby sentenced to 15 cycles in our prison mines . Do you have anything to say for yourself before you are transported?"

"For the record, that bomb did go off. " she said indignantly. Her hands were behind her back in a form of electric charged cuffs and sent out a small electric shock if she so much as struggled. Thankfully she had a fairly high tolerance for pain or they didn't adjust them high enough because she was easily able to move.  
>"Very well then, setting off an explosive on public and private property. Guards, take her away."<p>

They grabbed her by the shoulders, marching her out.

* * *

><p>-Thurs- 0647-<p>

-Norvua VI: Southeast Quadrant: Prison Mines: Second Level: Inmate Common Area-

-Adra-

The taser cuffs were already out of power when the guards removed them, if they had actually noticed they didn't say anything. The caged door opened and a gruff hand pushed her in, it clanked loudly behind her.

She stepped forward and was nearly blinded by the ultraviolet lights above her. She was thankful that the security was lax enough that they let her keep her googles. Taking a few steps around the large circular room she began to map out the area; there were bunks off in the room to her right, just ahead of her was what looked like a mess hall of sorts, the smell of boiled vegetables and meat hit her full on and she swallowed back the taste of bile.

Eyes were on her, but she refused to return their stares, nor the sudden pitching and rolling of her stomach. Walking very calmly almost leisurely to the left where a small hallway led to the bathrooms and shower room.

She was more than a bit relieved to find the bathrooms had small stalls, walking into one, flicking the lock into place, she knelt before it and retched.

Her head tingled slightly and she knew that her hair was threatening to rise, she tried to push it down but another wave of nausea rolled over her, she groaned softly. Not wanting to draw any attention to herself at this particular moment.

It was too late she realized upon hearing a faint metal clicking and a tsk noise.

"Well, well what do we have here?" woman's voice came from behind the door.  
>She tried to ignore the woman and the spinning but it just got worse, she retched again.<br>"Is that the sound of a delicate palate?"  
>Adra stood up uneasily, unlocking the door to face her verbal tormentor.<p>

The woman was a good half meter shorter, purple skinned and had a malicious smirk on her face. She was dressed in the same orange prison garb as herself and had her green hair pulled back into what looked like a short ponytail that made it look like a green fountain had sprouted from the center of the woman's head.

She would have laughed and made a remark about it if she has feeling just a teensy bit better. As it was she wasn't in the mood to deal with anyone's attitude, especially hers.

The woman made the first move trying to strike her with a closed with, Adra grabbed it and jerked her arm down and slammed it against the stall. The purple skinned woman screamed as her arm cracked in two different places.

A crowd began to form, hearing the screams from the bathroom.

The silver skinned woman slipped out of the crowd leaving her tormentor holding her broken arm.

* * *

><p>-Thurs- 1345-<br>-Norvua VI: Southeast Quadrant: Prison Mines: Second Level: Inmate Bunking Area-

-Adra-

She had settled on one of the bunks.

She knew it was a risky move to expose her back to the other inmates, but after stunt she pulled in the bathroom she very much doubted anyone would mess with her. Besides, she didn't want anyone seeing that she had swiped the coordinates of her location from the sentencing room, then a few wires from the Intake Room, and finally the scrap pieces of metal she needed to create a long distance homing beacon.

"Oh Come on," she whispered softly trying to get a the wires to connect. Their frayed ends were simply not going to co-operate with her. Finally she extended the claws on both her forefingers pinching the wires against the metal bed frame and twisted. Tucking the wires into the small device, she pushed the metal pieces that surrounded the wires together and watched for the slight hum it was supposed to make letting her know it was ready for transmission.

Her ears picked up the sound of footfalls. She tucked the device in progress into the small hole she had cut into the seams of her pants, near the fold.

She put a hand under the thin grimy pillow, laying the curled under her chin.

Tuning into the voices coming closer.

"..Onari." a distinctly raspy voice

"..stew?" this voice seemed unsure

"..one way to find out." the other voice, a lot lower replied.

She felt hands grab her, the coldness of a knife at her throat.

" Make one move and we will slit your throat right here." the raspy voice hissed in her ear, pulling her still hair back, exposing her neck, she froze," Good girl. Now come with us nice and quiet like."

They led her quickly into the shower area.

* * *

><p>-Thurs- 0905-<p>

-Norvua VI: Southeast Quadrant: Prison Mines: Inmate Shower Area: Fourth Level -

-Adra-

The blue skinned man with the raspy voice cleared the showers for them and they walked her in.

"That outta do girly. Now, ya got any last words for my boys and I carve that pretty little body 'o yers into pieces?" his eyes greasing over her body like hot oil.

She suppressed the urge to shudder. Instead turning her head and gave him an almost thoughtful look,"Yeah, which one of you wants to be on the bottom?"

"Wha-?" he asked, looking at his comrades in utter confusion.

She took the momentum and twisted the blue man's knife holding arm behind his back stabbing him with it, twisting his other arm and breaking it cleanly in half. The second man made a move for her but she caught him with her claws, slashing his chest and kicking his legs from up under him. He fell on top of the green skinned ring leader with left the third.

Just as she turned to face the last of her attackers she felt teeth sink into her side. She gritted her teeth and elbowed him as hard she could, she heard the distinct cracking of at least two ribs, which dislodged him enough so she could kick him down on top of his buddies.

She caught a glance of the biter's serrated rows of teeth, pulling her shirt up to examine the damage, there were a total of four rows of teeth marks on her side.

"Dammit." She panted, holding her side. Knowing that putting pressure on it will stop the bleeding, but she very much doubted that it would make much for a difference at this point in time.

She slumped against the wall, pulling the homing beacon out of the hole in her pants. She hit the button and hoped for the best as consciousness left her.

* * *

><p>-Thurs- 0935-<p>

-Yondu's Ship-  
>-Yondu-<p>

The comm beeped with a message he absently clicked it.

It had coordinates and nothing more.

He plugged them into the console and the image of Norvua VI appeared. Zooming in closer still to the southeast quadrant to the prison mines.

"Looks like missy got 'erself caught," he muttered to himself, then turned towards the rest of his crew," Boys, looks like we're headin' to Norvua VI."

* * *

><p>-Thurs- 1634-<p>

-Yondu's Ship: Infirmary-  
>-Adra-<p>

She felt something touch her side, she automatically reached out, extending claws and swiped at it.  
>A loud curse.<br>"Dammit, even when you're injured you're feisty. " a voice muttered above her.  
>She chuckled slightly, then winced as the stingingburning pain in her side reminding her it was still there. She opened her eyes and slowly sat up, favoring her left side.  
>"Glad you find my pain amusing," he moved the hand from his face and saw yellow blood, he grabbed a swath of cloth to stop the bleeding." We saved your ass back there by the way."<p>

"Thanks," she said sliding off the semi clean cot slowly. Clinging just slightly at tinge in her side which echoed up and down her spine into her legs.  
>"I managed to patch up your leg a bit, but that bite mark on your side was just a few millimeters from puncturing one of your lower lungs."<br>She nodded distractedly trying to test her balance.  
>"I'm not done with you."<br>"Yes, you are." She said between gritted teeth, moving stiffly toward the doors  
>"Adra…"<br>The doors swished closed behind her

She hobbled for a moment and then began to slowly make her way towards the Docking Bay. Sure, her back hurt a little bit, but that was nothing new. Her side stung and each breath was uncomfortable, but her ship needed her. The ship wasn't going to repair itself and she'd be damned if she was going to let any of Yondu's crew touch it.

* * *

><p>-Thurs- 1854-<br>-Yondu's Ship: Docking Bay-  
>-Peter-<p>

He found her hunched over on top of the wing of the ship with her googles on and a soldering tool in her hand. She looked at least two maybe three shades paler than normal.  
>"You look terrible." he said before he could stop himself.<br>"Gee, you really know how to compliment a girl. "she deadpanned without glancing up.  
>A smirk appeared on his face, then he noticed a darkening spot on the left side of her shirt, the smirk died quickly disbelief settling in" Is that blood? "<br>Turning her head to look as the side which he was pointing, she shrugged "Prolly." Then resumed her soldering.  
>He sighed " I can't even leave you alone for 5 days-"<br>"10 days." She corrected with a bored tone as she continued soldering the tear on the left wing of her ship.  
>"Either way, I can't leave you alone. You should be in the infirmary resting." he scolded.<br>"I can handle myself." came the clipped reply as she grabbed a hammer and began to bang a dent out of the wing.  
>"If by handling yourself means getting arrested then, yeah, you're doing a fantastic job." he commented idly leaning against the side of the ship.<br>"Why, thank you. I try." She answered drily a slight smirk playing on her lips. She stopped for a moment pushing her googles over her head and wiped her brow. He noticed the dark circles under her eyes. She pushed the goggles down and went back to work.  
>"Dammit Adra." he sighed, getting frustrated that she had no real concern for her own safety.<p>

She was actually more concerned about the repairs on her ship.  
>"Don't 'dammit' me. You," she pointed with the soldering gun in her hand, to his horror," haven't a leg to stand on when it comes to getting caught doing stupid stuff. "<br>She turned back to soldering the torn metal on the wing. She turned off the gun surveying her work. Deciding it was satisfactory she crawled slowly across to the other wing, settling down on it with an undignified "oomph".  
>He moved to the other side of the ship, noticing with some amount of concern the spot on her left side had become darker and bigger. Her grip tightened on the tool, causing her fingers to turn nearly white.<br>"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked indignantly, trying not to notice her arm shaking.  
>"One day you'll flirt with the wrong woman-" she explained, focusing with more concentration than what should have been necessary to make a simple repair.<br>"No such thing." he commented with a witty smirk.  
>She ignored him and continued, "And she's going to be Queen or something and you'll end up on a one way trip to a prison planet for it. "<br>"That's not the worst possible way to end up in prison." he admitted with an honest shrug.  
>She snorted and shook her head. "You're incorrigible. "<br>Her attention went back to soldering, but then she stopped suddenly, wavering slightly.  
>"What?"<br>Putting the gun down she touched her side, wincing as she did so. Peter felt the color drain from his face as she pulled her hand away, it was covered in blood.  
>"Adra."<br>She opened her mouth as if to say something but instead tried to stand up.  
>"Don't-"<br>He barely had time to react as her legs gave away and she fell off the edge of the wing, he caught her. She had bled through the swaths and her shirt.

* * *

><p>-Thurs- 1915-<p>

-The Milano-

-Peter-

He had sat her down in the co-pilots chair, not wanting to take his eyes off of her, but knowing her couldn't pilot and play nurse at the same time.

He had tucked a few more swaths of cloth against her side, causing her to come to conscious for a few brief moments as she feebly tried to push his hands away.

"I'm trying to help you dammit, just don't bleed all over the chair."

"Tanaris.." she mumbled, her head lulled sickly to the side.

"What?" he looked up from tucking the cloth between her at the chair.

Her eyes snapped open suddenly, they were glassy and dull, her voice clouded with pain,"How close are we?"

"How are you even conscious?" he asked in disbelief, settling himself into the pilot's chair, fingers gliding over the console to bring up the map to chart the course for the nearest planet with a decent medical facility. She had already slipped from the infirmary the Ravagers ran and he very much doubted they had the medical knowledge to treat her bite wound.

Tanaris was in fact the closest.

"Answer the question." she snapped suddenly, shifting slightly in the chair to take some of the pressure off of her left side.

"A few hours." he supplied, glancing at her wondering if she wasn't some type of strange omniscient creature instead of just being the plain Adra he knew.

"Good," she managed, her voice starting to go distant again, "call Niaras when you land."

"Niaras?" he questioned, not getting a response he turned to her, but found that she had closed her eyes and was out again.

* * *

><p>-Thurs- 2314-<br>-Tanaris: Medical Facility: Surgery Room-  
>-Adra -<p>

She heard voices above her, she tried but just couldn't break through the garble that was her brain to figure out what they were saying.

The stinging pain in her side burned to her back making her want to curl up and want to die.

Something lifted her and she felt like she was moving the voices were mumbled but she could hear the urgency in them-  
>Her side was burning and fingers where in it pushing making her scream in pain, she tried to fight back to get away, but there were hands holding her down while the fingers kept pushing.<p>

She hoped, no prayed to whatever space deity that was out there, for unconsciousness but no such luck.

She felt something injected in her arm and things got a little fuzzier but no less painful. She struggled a bit less, energy leaving her quickly.

"Another dose." a voice said urgently.

"..okay?" another voice, slightly familiar and worried

"..lethal."

".. blood loss, infection.."

Another injection and her world blessedly went dark.

* * *

><p>-Fri - 0714-<p>

-Tanaris: Medical Facility: Recovery Room-

-Adra-

The first thing as she slowly came back to consciousness was brightness, she turned her head away from it.

She felt a gentle squeeze on her hand.

Opening her eyes cautiously, she found the brightness had been dimmed considerably and she was able to see. She groaned slightly at the sight of familiar white walls. She had sworn she had seen enough of hospital rooms years ago.

"Nice to see you too." a very familiar voice said next to her, she turned slightly and saw Niaras sitting beside her holding her hand.

"Wha?" she croaked, her throat dry and convulsing in protest. He let go of her hand, leaning over to his side and handed her a glass of water, she took it shakily and drank feeling the coolness soothe her scratchy throat and fill her very empty stomach. Handing the glass back he took it and placed it back on the table.

His hand clasping hers again, she found it oddly comforting.

"Apparently you had asked for me before you landed," he supplied, the amber pools that were eyes searching hers for something," you were pretty delirious when we got you here."

She frowned at the 'we' in his sentence, trying to remember what exactly had landed her here. The thoughts came to her slowly, she had been working on her ship and had felt light headed and Peter was antagonizing her... dammit.

Before she could even try to formulate the words to explain why she had wanted him there, Peter's cheery voice came from the doorway.

"Well, look who's up." He sauntered in, a smirk on his face upon seeing them holding hands. He held two cups in his hand, one he handed to Niaras and the other he took a drink from. The smell of cheap instant coffee filled her nostrils.

"Morn'n to you too." she mumbled, feeling her cheeks warm with a blush. This was not how she had envisioned the two of them meeting, especially not with her unconscious in a hospital bed. She didn't even want to imagine how many different ways Peter was going to tease her after this.

She shifted forward slightly trying to sit up. She felt an odd tug on her left side, like adhesive and stitches. Peering underneath the thin cream colored blank she saw swaths of fabric that were slightly stained with blood. There was no doubt in her mind that there were at least fifty or so stitches in her side.

That was definitely going to leave a mark.

"Well damn," she said, settling back down trying to get as comfortable as she could as she felt the steady throbbing of pain drumming at her side. With a conscious effort she tried to block it out looking at her male counterparts, "Are you two going to continue to gawk, or will one of you tell me what happened?"

"Apparently getting arrested wasn't enough for you," Peter smirked into his cup taking a quick sip, his expression turning oddly serious, "and you got yourself one helluva an infection from that bite on your side, nearly bled out on my ship."

Was he honestly whining about his damn ship? If she wasn't so utterly exhausted she would have easily pointed out that she was the one who had recalibrated the engines and fixed his AI giving it a much needed update.

"Your ship is filthy anyways," she scowled, waving away his comment with a slight shrug, the continuous drumming of the pain on her side was breaking through her resolve," what's a few blood stains?"

"No one has died in it yet. I would like to keep it that way." he explained after taking another gulp of his coffee. He shifted his weight to his other leg, leaning against the wall. A concerned expression crossed his face as his eyes met hers and began searching for something. Not finding it, he frowned.

"The key word being yet." she returned evenly, trying to keep her focus on him despite it beginning to drift as the world started to get fuzzy around the edges.

"In any case, " Niaras interrupted their usual banter with a gentle squeeze of her hand, her eyes turning to him, frowning realizing that he too was getting fuzzy. What kind of drugs did they have her on? Her eyelids grew heavier and heavier with each second. " Get some rest, we'll be here."

"That's not totally creepy at all, my brother and boyfriend in the same room watching me sleep." she felt herself murmur.

"Did she just say boyfriend?" Peter's voice echoed in her head. His voice sounded dubious. She wanted to smirk and say something witty, but found herself without the energy nor will as sleep pulled her under.


End file.
